PIA Fokker (AP-BAL) crash investigation thread

[Abbas Ali]

Piece from tail section of AP-BAL.

Pakistan finds crashed plane's black box

By Aamir Ashraf

KARACHI (Reuters) - Investigators have recovered the flight data and cockpit voice recorders of a Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) plane that crashed killing all 45 people on board, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The Fokker F-27 turboprop, built in 1964, crashed on Monday the outskirts of the central city of Multan two minutes after take off.

Shahnawaz Dara, head of PIA's flight safety wing, said the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder with information about the aircraft's final moments were recovered in good condition.

"Pilots did not contact the control tower before the crash ... the voice recorder will give a direction on what was happening at the time of the crash and why there was no contact from the cockpit crew," Dara told Reuters.

"Both pieces of equipment are good enough to find out what happened to the aircraft before the crash."

Pakistan's aviation regulator said help of foreign experts could be sought to examine the recorders if necessary.

"We don't want to spoil any evidence and if we feel that we need foreign experts to handle them, we will go for it," said Air Vice Marshal Mohammad Safdar Khan, deputy managing director of Civil Aviation Authority.

Khan said it would take at least a month to complete the investigation into the air crash. For now, investigators were keeping all options open on the possible cause of the crash.

Witnesses said they saw flames coming from the aircraft after it took off, and it appeared to be tilting to the right.

It was the third Fokker Friendship operated by PIA to have crashed since 1970.

PIA officials said there were no plans to ground the remaining six Fokkers in the fleet and all of the planes, including the one that crashed, were airworthy.

However, airlines' pilots demanded an immediate phasing out of all the Fokkers.

Image & News Source: Yahoo News

[Abbas Ali]

Probe ordered

MULTAN (July 11 2006): PIA chairman Tariq Kirmani announced Rs 200,000 financial compensation for each family of victims of the Fokker plane crash. While addressing a press conference here on Monday, Kirmani said PIA has made all arrangements to transport families of victims to Multan and will arrange transportation of bodies of victims to their respective areas at PIA's expense.

He said manufacturers of Fokker planes and experts from Rolls Royce, the manufacturing company of Fokker plane engines, would be reaching Pakistan within a day or two to assist the inquiry teams in investigating the plane crash incident.

The PIA chairman said Fokker manufacturers have been called to help the joint inquiry team of PIA and CAA to find out causes behind the Monday's Fokker plane crash that claimed lives of 45 passengers at Multan.

Fokker planes would continue to operate and serve the passengers, he said.

Senior Vice President PIA Engineering wing Iftikhar Gull said that the experts from Fokker manufacturers and Rolls Royce would reach Multan within a day or two to help the inquiry team. The PIA chairman said, PIA now has six Fokker planes, five owned by PIA and one it got on lease.

Fokker planes would continue to operate and serve the passengers, he said.

PIA deputy managing-director Farooq Shah, while addressing a press conference along with flight operation director Captain Athar here at the PIA training centre in Karachi said the Fokker aircraft had lost its contact with the control tower soon after takeoff.

He said as soon as the captain's contact with control tower was lost, an emergency was declared. Refusing comment on possible causes of crash, Farooq Shah said senior executive vice-president Captain Shah Nawaz Dara would conduct the inquiry. Replying to a question, he said still no Fokker has been grounded.

Source: Business Recorder

[Abbas Ali]

Rolls Royce, Fokker manufacturers to assist in plane crash inquiry

MULTAN, July 10 (APP): Manufacturers of Fokker planes and experts from Rolls Royce, the manufacturing company of Fokker plane engines, would be reaching Pakistan within a day or two to assist the inquiry teams in investigating the plane crash incident.

Chairman PIA Tariq Kirmani told newsmen here Monday that the Fokker manufacturers have been called to help the joint inquiry team of PIA and CAA to find out causes behind the Monday’s Fokker plane crash that claimed lives of 45 passengers at Multan.

Senior Vice President PIA Engineering wing Iftikhar Gull said that the experts from Fokker manufacturers and Rolls Royce would reach Multan within a day or two to help the inquiry team.

PIA Chairman said, PIA now have six Fokker planes, five owned by PIA and one it got on lease.

Fokker planes would continue to operate and serve the passengers, he said. He, however, added, Fokker planes would immediately undergo a routine fitness evaluation process while a detailed fitness evaluation exercise would begin after the completion of the on-going inquiry.

Tariq Kirmani termed Fokker planes as air-worthy and fit adding that he himself travelled by these planes many times.

He said, “We keep them fit through regular maintenance and replacement of old parts. Despite some difficulty we successfully manage to get these spares.”

Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

[Abbas Ali]

Investigation team starts probe into Multan air crash

MULTAN, July 10 (APP): An investigation team comprising experts of PIA and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has arrived here and started its enquiry into the air crash tragedy that claimed 45 precious lives here Monday afternoon.

Those experts who inspected the site included air commodore Junaid Amin, who is president special investigation board, wing commander Syed Nasim, air vice marshal and deputy director general CAA Safdar Khan, who is also deputy director CAA, Iftikhar Gul, senior vice president PIA engineering, Capt Khalid Hamza, director Pakistan Airlines Pilots Association (PALPA) and general secretary PALPA Cap Nadeem Choudhry.

Senior vice president PIA Engineering Iftikhar Gul and deputy director general CAA Safdar Khan told newsmen at the site that the black box has been found from the wreckage and valuable information is likely to be derived from it that will throw light on the cause of the fatal air crash.

They said the police have been asked to cordon off the area so that no one is allowed to enter the site of the tragedy. They said the probe team will visit the site on Tuesday as well.

They said it is a hard task to ascertain the cause or causes of the air accident. However, the black box will be of a great help to reach the truth.

They said air crash is always a complicated incident and requires some time to ascertain the cause. This incident may take at least one month to reach final conclusion, they added.

They said if the black box is not damaged their own experts will be able to decipher it, otherwise, foreign experts’ help will be sought.

They said the Fokker is an airworthy aircraft and technically sound and its fitness cannot be determined solely from its age. If any plane is found unfit it is not allowed to take off, they observed.

Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

[Abbas Ali]

PIA Fokkers not grounded: Government Spokesman

ISLAMABAD, July 10 (APP): A government spokesman Monday denying reports of grounding of Pakistan International Airlines Fokker fleet said no such decision has been taken.

The spokesmen dismissed media reports stating that the Prime Minister had ordered grounding of the F-27 fleet, following the crash of PK-688 at Multan a few minutes after take off, killing all on board.

A Board of Inquiry to investigate the accident which claimed 45 lives, including four crew members has already been ordered on the directives of the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

The spokesman said no decision has been taken to ground the remaining six F-27 aircraft, currently being used by PIA.

The Civil Aviation Authority in Karachi announced the constitution of the Board of Inquiry to probe into the crash of the Fokker aircraft.

The investigation team headed by Air Commodore M Junaid Ameen have reached the crash site.

Deputy Defence Minister Zahid Hamid recently told the National Assembly that the Fokkers operated by the national flag carrier were safe for flying and were being maintained according to international standards.

Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

[Abbas Ali]

KARACHI: Workers’ body holds top PIA officials responsible: Plane crash

KARACHI, July 10: A workers union of the PIA has claimed that the Fokker aircraft that crashed near Multan on Monday met with the accident due to the lack of maintenance, and said that the overwork and fatigue being caused to the crews and mismanagement in the national carrier were other factors contributing to the tragedy.

Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, President of the Air League of PIA Employees Shamim Akmal demanded sacking of PIA chief Tariq Kirmani, Senior Vice-President Farooq Shah, Director Administration Waseem Bari, Director Engineering Mr Gul and certain other senior officials.

He claimed that cabin and cockpit crews had long been subjected to overwork and were being denied adequate rest which was badly affecting their efficiency.

He said that Air League, which acted as the CBA when union activities in PIA were suspended, had time and again raised the issue with the management asking it not to overburden the crew.

He said that the issue had also been raised through media to draw the government’s attention. He alleged that since Mr Kirmani had taken the charge, the crew was not being provided sufficient rest between two flights, making flights vulnerable to disasters. The government also did not take any notice of the management’s policy.

Mr Akmal pointed out that a number of technical employees of the engineering department had quit PIA and join some other airlines for better wages and working conditions. This had crippled the department, he added.

He claimed that 40-year-old Fokkers were being used by PIA.

He demanded that crew be allowed sufficient rest and an adequate number of crew members for every flight be ensured. He also stressed on proper maintenance of all aircraft to ensure safety of every person on board.

Mr Akmal demanded payment of compensation for each victim of the crash.

On the occasion, he distributed a statement of the International Transport Workers Federation which read: “The safety in air traffic is dependent on a healthy and cheerful flight crew, but when the flight crew are forced to work for lengthy hours even 22 hours a day they are on the verge of total collapse which has made PIA flights unsafe due to fatigue factor. The flight crew flying-hours be made in line with flying hours as applicable in other airlines to avoid work fatigue and avoid disasters.”

Had the PIA management listened to its union or to the international federation, this disaster could have been avoided, Mr Akmal argued.

Source: DAWN

[Abbas Ali]

© AP Photo / Khalid Tanveer

Picture: Crashed PIA Fokker F27 appeared to have feathered propeller on impact

By Kieran Daly in London

Pictures of the crashed Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Fokker F-27 at Multain airport appear to show the propeller of one engine feathered and largely undamaged as if it were not rotating at impact.

Source: www.flightglobal.com

[Abbas Ali]

Photo Credit: Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images - www.gettyimages.com

This photo shows the propeller of aircraft's starboard side engine (engine# 2) badly damaged as if it were rotating at impact.

[Abbas Ali]

Investigators find plane’s engine parts from runway

From Nadeem Shah

Multan: The investigation of plane crash have found some engine parts from Multan Airport runway and said the plane might have crashed due to overloading because it is an important factor in accidents, sources said. In this connection when PIA cargo office was contacted to get the exact load of plane, the officials said the investigators had taken the whole record in their custody with the orders not to reveal anything. Technical experts on condition of anonymity revealed that the engine condition, temperature and load of plane should be balanced otherwise it could lead to crash. Sources said after finding some parts from runway, it indicates peak motion of engine at take-off moments damages it due to overloading of goods. When a plane is ready for take-off it discharges extra heat after receiving full power but it becomes damaged if carrying extra load of goods. Sources presumed that overloading caused breaking of engine parts while temperature also played key role in crash moments after the take-off.

Source: The News

[Abbas Ali]

Fokker had history of technical problems

By Baqir Sajjad

ISLAMABAD, July 11: Pakistan International Airline’s (PIA) turbo prop Fokker F-27 aircraft which crashed in Multan on Monday had a history of technical problems, sources told Dawn on Tuesday.

The aircraft had developed an electrical fault on June 27 at the Chitral airport. The shutdown circuit, a source said, was energised and engines shut down when started. The incident had caused a delay in the operation of the flight on that occasion and the flight captain had filed a detailed report.

The source said that after detection of such faults two to three weeks were extremely vital for an aircraft with every likelihood of recurrence of the same electrical problem leading to a crash.

On another occasion about two months ago, one of the engines of the aircraft had failed to operate.

Preliminary evidence, he said, showed that prior to the crash one of the engines had shut down and the aircraft was unable to sustain height.

According to one aviation expert, if one of the engines of the aircraft had failed then the question arises why was the plane not able to sustain flight when it had the designed ability to fly with one engine.

Was it the additional weight of unauthorised luggage on board which caused the accident? It is a common practice that passengers boarding flights from Multan have crates of mangoes with them, each of which weighs at least 10 kg. This extra weight amounting to hundreds of kg could well have been one of the reasons for the pilot’s failure to control the aircraft.

A source told this reporter that one of the French trainers on a recently-acquired ATR aircraft had snubbed the airline on Tuesday morning and had ordered offloading of excess luggage, saying “You haven’t learnt a lesson from yesterday’s crash, have you?”.

Moreover, the source added, the performance factor of the aircraft had not been reviewed for several years now, although it was a well-known fact that it kept deteriorating with the passage of time. “It also needs to be looked into whether the temperature and atmospheric conditions were appropriate for the weight the Fokker was carrying at the time of the flight.”

Or was the pilot not trained enough to handle such emergencies, asked an aviation expert.

Recently, he said, PIA’s training standard for pilots had been under doubt.

A pilot, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “What quality of training could be expected when the cost on training is compromised.”

Source: DAWN

[Abbas Ali]

The opinion of Pakistan’s civil aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), according to reports citing “sources” in the organization, is that the plane crashed because of “operational problems”. Reportedly, they said, the plane at the time of take-off was carrying too much weight and apparently there were “hundreds” of mango cartons on it as well.

Source: The News - Editorial

[optimist]

Thank you for compiling investigation stuff under one thread!

[Abbas Ali]

Fokker was cleared by supervisor not engineer

Investigators find six parts, Fokker Company's agent visits site to assess destruction.

By Nadeem Shah

MULTAN: Investigators have found six different parts of Fokker plane from airport runway on Wednesday, sources said.

Security officials on the condition of anonymity disclosed that plane was cleared for take-off by supervisor-level officers as engineers of the PIA Engineering Branch were not present at the departure of plane.

It merits a mention that noise is being raised about the death of engineer Imtiaz just to divert the attention of investigators towards other directions by saving engineering side. Sources said that two types of engineers perform work in plane departure, one is responsible for plane maintenance on board and he travels with the plane and the other is ground engineer who is responsible of final clearance for take-off. The traced parts would be examined in laboratory of aircraft company to establish final opinion about the parts.

Sources said that some parts indicate failure of right wing engine at peak motion of take-off that damaged it due to overload of goods. When a plane gets ready for take-off it discharges extra heat after receiving full power but it collapses if the plane carries extra load.

It is learnt that when the ill-fated plane was taking off its speed was 140 miles per hour with the inner temperature of 900 degree centigrade. However, the investigations were underway on Wednesday while two new officials include Captain Dara of PIA director flight safety and PAF brigadier in the investigation squad.

Earlier, special investigation board headed by Air Commodore Junaid Amin and Air Vice Marshal and CAA Deputy Director General Safdar Khan, Wing Commander Syed Nasim, Air Vice Marshal Iftikhar Gul, started investigation and they inspected the site.

The CAA authorities also started packing of engine and its parts to proceed to Karachi for investigation and it is expected parts would be shifted on Thursday. The wreckage of crashed plane would be removed within next two days, sources said.

The CAA authorities also collected passengers' luggage and articles to hand over their heirs as the last sign of deceased passengers. Earlier, Fokker Company's insurance agent Marten visited the site to assess the destruction.

It is worthy to note that crashed plane right wing first destroyed after failure of right engine. Meanwhile, Federal Defence Ministry has widely appreciated the quick and timely performance of Multan Civil Aviation Authority officials led by airport manager.

Federal Minister for Defense Rao Sikandar Iqbal and Secretary Defence Tariq Wasim have lauded the help extended by CAA and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) officials in connection with Monday's air crash.

The CAA rescuers reached at spot first of all, quickly imitating the work at plane crashed site besides covering the site by CAA fire brigade section. The ministry said that the officials had extended all-out cooperation and helped to the bereaved families of the air crash victims, and lauded their help to other departments and entities to facilitate them in the rescue-recovery operation.

They lauded the officials of both national organisations for a commendable job, and referred in particular to Airport Manager Aamir Mahboob who handled the tragic situation quickly and rapidly under unwanted circumstances.

Source: The News

[Abbas Ali]

PIA seeks foreign help in crash inquiry

ISLAMABAD, July 13: PIA on Thursday sought help of foreign experts to provide specialist advice to the board of inquiry probing the Fokker crash.

According to PIA’s Public Affairs and Communication Division, the airline has invited a three-member team from aircraft and engine manufacturers to take part in the investigation. “These experts from the Fokker Services, Rolls Royce and Air Safety Investigation Team will join hands with the CAA board of inquiry and provide specialist advice,” a statement said.

However, the Pakistan Airline Pilot’s Association (PALPA) rejected the move as farce and an eyewash.

Association president Captain Khalid Hamza told Dawn that calling experts from Fokker, a company that has ended its operations, and Rolls Royce, which no more produces Dart engines used in the Fokker, was incomprehensible.

He said he had failed to understand why the PIA was reluctant to involve the International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations (IFALPA), which was reputed for its accident analysis work and accredited with international civil aviation bodies and whose impartiality was proven.

“IFALPA could have provided PIA its services free of cost, or else PALPA would have borne the expenses,” he added.

Captain Hamza feared this was being done to keep PALPA out of the inquiry and put the entire blame on the pilot of the crashed Fokker.

“I suspect that the evidence is being tampered to hold the deceased pilot responsible,” he said while referring to the recovery of parts of the engine of the Fokker from Multan airport’s runway.

He said initially it was reported that some fluid was falling from the aircraft along with flames of fire, but now they had come up with parts falling off as the aircraft took off.

The purpose of the inquiry, he said, should not to be to put the blame on someone, but to prevent such accidents in future and ensure flight safety.

This, he believed, was possible only if an independent and competent body was involved in the probe.

Source: DAWN

[Abbas Ali]

Team of experts in explosives visit Multan airport

MULTAN, July 13: A team of experts in explosives visited the Multan Airport, its runway and the site of the crash in Suraj Miani. A source at the airport said that the team was perhaps working on the so-far-ruled-out possibility of the involvement of a sabotage act.

Source: DAWN